Sewing needle in the context of Embroideries

A surgical suture, also known as a stitch or stitches, is a medical device used to hold body tissues together and approximate wound edges after an injury or surgery. Application generally involves using a needle with an attached length of thread. There are numerous types of suture which differ by needle shape and size as well as thread material and characteristics. Selection of surgical suture should be determined by the characteristics and location of the wound or the specific body tissues being approximated.

In selecting the needle, thread, and suturing technique to use for a specific patient, a medical care provider must consider the tensile strength of the specific suture thread needed to efficiently hold the tissues together depending on the mechanical and shear forces acting on the wound as well as the thickness of the tissue being approximated. One must also consider the elasticity of the thread and ability to adapt to different tissues, as well as the memory of the thread material which lends to ease of use for the operator. Different suture characteristics lend way to differing degrees of tissue reaction and the operator must select a suture that minimizes the tissue reaction while still keeping with appropriate tensile strength.

Embroidery is the art of decorating fabric or other materials using a needle to stitch thread or yarn. It is one of the oldest forms of textile art, with origins dating back thousands of years across various cultures. Common stitches found in early embroidery include the chain stitch, buttonhole or blanket stitch, running stitch, satin stitch, and cross stitch. Modern embroidery continues to utilize traditional techniques, though many contemporary stitches are exclusive to machine embroidery.

Embroidery is commonly used to embellish accessories and garments is usually seen on quilts, clothing, and accessories. In addition to thread, embroidery may incorporate materials such as pearls, beads, quills, and sequins to highlight texture and design. Today, embroidery serves both decorative and functional purposes and is utilized in fashion expression, cultural identity, and custom-made gifts.

Redditch is a town and non-metropolitan district with borough status in Worcestershire, England. In 2021, the town had a population of 81,637 and the district had a population of 87,037. In the 1800s, it became a centre for the needle and fishing tackle industry; by the end of the century,90% of the world's needles were manufactured in the town and its surrounding areas.

In the 1960s, it became part of the new town planning movement which included it expanding into neighbouring villages and hamlets surrounding the town. It is the second largest settlement in Worcestershire, after Worcester.

Sewing is the craft of fastening pieces of textiles together using a sewing needle and thread. Sewing is one of the oldest of the textile arts, originating in the Paleolithic era. Archaeological evidence suggests that early humans in Europe and Asia produced garments from fur and leather clothing using bone, antler or ivory sewing-needles and "thread" made of various animal body parts including sinew, catgut, and veins.

For thousands of years, all sewing was done by hand. The sewing machine which was invented in the 19th century enabled mechanized stitching, and the mass production of garments expanded in the 20th century. Hand sewing remains common in high-quality tailoring, haute couture fashion, and custom dressmaking, and is practiced by both textile artists and hobbyists as a means of creative expression.

Needlework refers to decorative sewing and other textile handicrafts that involve the use of a needle. Needlework may also include related textile crafts like crochet (which uses a hook), or tatting, (which uses a shuttle).

Similar abilities often transfer well between different varieties of needlework, such as fine motor skill and knowledge of textile fibers. Some of the same tools may be used in several different varieties of needlework.

A knitting needle or knitting pin is a tool in hand-knitting to produce knitted fabrics. They generally have a long shaft and taper at their end, but they are not nearly as sharp as sewing needles. Their purpose is two-fold. The long shaft holds the active (unsecured) stitches of the fabric, to prevent them from unravelling, whereas the tapered ends are used to form new stitches. Most commonly, a new stitch is formed by inserting the tapered end through an active stitch, catching a loop (also called a bight) of fresh yarn and drawing it through the stitch; this secures the initial stitch and forms a new active stitch in its place. In specialized forms of knitting the needle may be passed between active stitches being held on another needle, or indeed between/through inactive stitches that have been knit previously.

The size of a needle is described first by its diameter and secondly by its length. The size of the new stitch is determined in large part by the diameter of the knitting needle used to form it, because that affects the length of the yarn-loop drawn through the previous stitch. Thus, large stitches can be made with large needles, whereas fine knitting requires fine needles. In most cases, the knitting needles being used in hand-knitting are of the same diameter; however, in uneven knitting, needles of different sizes may be used. Larger stitches may also be made by wrapping the yarn more than once around the needles with every stitch. The length of a needle determines how many stitches it can hold at once; for example, very large projects such as a shawl with hundreds of stitches might require a longer needle than a small project such as a scarf or bootie. Various sizing systems for needles are in common use.

Needle lace is a type of lace created using a needle and thread to create hundreds of small stitches to form the lace itself.

In everyday language, a stitch in the context of embroidery or hand-sewing is defined as the movement of the embroidery needle from the back of the fibre to the front side and back to the back side. The thread stroke on the front side produced by this is also called stitch. In the context of embroidery, an embroidery stitch means one or more stitches that are always executed in the same way, forming a figure. Embroidery stitches are also called stitches for short.

Embroidery stitches are the smallest units in embroidery. Embroidery patterns are formed by doing many embroidery stitches, either all the same or different ones, either following a counting chart on paper, following a design painted on the fabric or even working freehand.

The straight or running stitch is the basic stitch in hand-sewing and embroidery, on which all other forms of sewing are based. The stitch is worked by passing the needle in and out of the fabric at a regular distance. All other stitches are created by varying the straight stitch in length, spacing, and direction.

Running stitches are most often not visible as they are used to close seams.

Beadwork is the art or craft of attaching beads to one another by stringing them onto a thread or thin wire with a sewing or beading needle or sewing them to cloth. Beads are produced in a diverse range of materials, shapes, and sizes, and vary by the kind of art produced. Most often, beadwork is a form of personal adornment (e.g. jewelry), but it also commonly makes up other artworks.

Beadwork techniques are broadly divided into several categories, including loom and off-loom weaving, stringing, bead embroidery, bead crochet, bead knitting, and bead tatting.

A needlecase or needle case is a small, often decorative, holder for sewing needles. Early needlecases were usually small tubular containers of bone, wood, or bronze with tight-fitting stoppers, often designed to hang from a belt. Needlecases are often components of an étui and are typically one of the tools attached to a chatelaine.A pin poppet is a similar container for pins, common in the 18th century. Bodkin cases, made for larger, thicker bodkin needles, were made in the 18th and early 19th centuries.

Sharpness refers to the ability of a blade, point, or cutting implement to cut through materials with minimal force, and can more specifically be defined as the capacity of a surface to initiate the cut. Sharpness depends on factors such as the edge angle, edge width, and the fineness of the cutting edge, and is aided by material hardness. This quality is found in a variety of naturally occurring forms, including certain kinds of rock, in plant thorns and spines, and in animal teeth, claws, horns, and other structures serving various purposes. Sharpness is also a critical attribute for man-made tools ranging from kitchen knives and scissors to industrial cutting equipment, as it allows the user of a sharp implement to efficiently penetrate surfaces, or neatly divide other materials into smaller portions as needed.

A balance must be found between the sharpness and durability. Methods that can circumvent this include differential hardening. This method yields an edge that can hold its sharpness as well as a body that is tough. Different methods have been developed to sharpen surfaces, and to test surfaces for relative sharpness.

Quilting is the process of joining a minimum of three layers of fabric together either through stitching manually using a needle and thread, or mechanically with a sewing machine or specialised longarm quilting system. An array of stitches is passed through all layers of the fabric to create a three-dimensional padded surface. The three layers are typically referred to as the top fabric or quilt top, batting or insulating material, and the backing.

Quilting varies from a purely functional fabric joinery technique to highly elaborate, decorative three dimensional surface treatments. A wide variety of textile products are traditionally associated with quilting, including bed coverings, home furnishings, garments and costumes, wall hangings, artistic objects, and cultural artifacts.